7 And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even
to the children of Heth." - Genesis 23:1-7

Here we read of Sarah, the wife of Abraham, and of her death. We read that
Sarah was 127 years old when she died. I imagine, many of those years were
spent with her companion and friend, Abraham. Yet, the day finally came
when she was to die. The day of death for Sarah was inevitable. She could
not delay that day even if she wanted to. She could not call up Death and
say to him, "You know, I think I'd like to reschedule this appointment."
No sir. This was one appointment that Sarah had to keep.

Hebrews 9:27 says, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after
this the judgment."

Death is a universal event that happens to everyone. No one can escape
death because it is appointed unto men once to die, as the Bible says.
Do you know what the population of the world was back in 1812? It was
about 1 billion. There were approximately 1 billion people who lived on
this earth in 1812. Do you know how many of those people died? All of
them. Every single solitary person on the face of this earth, perished.
They all died.

It is appointed unto men once to die.

Are you ready to die? You know, your day of death is coming. Are you
ready?

The Bible says, love is strong as death and jealousy is cruel as the grave.
Did you know that death is cruel? It's horribly cruel. Death takes away
our companions, our friends, our family, our children. It is an enemy that
is cruel, and he shows absolutely no mercy whatsoever. He does not regard
old persons, nor young. He does not show pity to the poor, nor does he
regard the rich and powerful. Death is very, very cruel.

The dead cannot bury anyone's dead, yet Jesus said this because once death
takes hold on someone, that's it. It's over. Cry your tears, wipe your
eyes, and preach the gospel. Why? Because there are others ready to die
who need to hear about the Way, the Truth, and the Life. There's a battle
going on, and the death count is rising with every minute. Souls are
perishing, and we need to throw them the life-line, which is Jesus Christ.

King Solomon said in Proverbs 24:11-12, "If thou forbear to deliver them
that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain;
If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the
heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and
shall not he render to every man according to his works?"

Do you realize that there are souls in this world who are drawn unto death,
and who are ready to be slain? Are you one of those souls? Of course you
are.

Do not think that death won't come knocking at your door. Do not think
that death will not say to you, "It is time."

When death comes, do not say to him, "Tomorrow I will give." He will laugh
at you if you say tomorrow. He'll quote to you the scriptures and say,
"Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring
forth." - Proverbs 27:1

The piper has his dues that must be payed. You have defrauded him of his
wages for too long. The day to give that which you owe has come. Do not
think that death will take monthly payments either. He only takes one lump
sums.

You see, "The wages of sin is death." - Romans 6:23. Wages are what one
earns. They are his earnings. Just like when you put in a hard day's
work, you earn a wage. Likewise, when you sin, you are earning the wage of
death. There is no joyful payment when it comes to death. The payment we
receive is a cruel death.

You see, for the unbeliever, they think that when they die, that's it.
It's over. My friend, nothing could be further from the truth. The Bible
talks about a second death. Not only does the unbeliever die once, but he
dies twice.

Do you realize that when you die, all of those wrongdoings you did in your
lifetime are going to be repayed? That means that your sin will be given
wages. Some people will earn more wages than others. For some, their hell
will be hotter. Jesus said of the hypocrites that they shall receive
greater damnation. That's just for some. But for all, the wages of sin is
death. Death is coming.

There is no bargaining with death either. He does not take bribes. He
only wants your soul.

Jesus said, "What shall it profit it a man if he shall gain the whole
world, and lose his own soul?" - Mark 8:36

When you sell a marketable product, you can make a profit. There is some
sort of gain there. You might sell some shoes for a price that would bring
you in some money. This is what we call profit. You profit from your
sales. But with death, there is no profit. With losing your soul, there
is no gain.

The only gain that one gets is a new place to weep and gnash their teeth in
pain.

Is that what you want? Death?

Jesus said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have
it more abundantly." - John 10:10

Jesus came to give life. God has no pleasure in the death of anyone. He
says in the Old Testament, "Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked
should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his
ways, and live?" - Ezekiel 18:23

You see, God doesn't want you to die. He wants you to live.
By the way, have you ever wondered why the good die young? It's because
the young who die were never good in the first place. Jesus said, "There
is none good, but one, that is God." - Matthew 19:17

Are you good? If you were good, then believing the gospel should be no
problem for you. A good person would take a good God at his word. But you
don't, so therefore, you are not a good person. By the way, you won't see
good people in hell. Hell was never meant for good people.

Jesus said, "Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for
the devil and his angels." - Matthew 25:41.

If you're a good person, then what are you doing in the devil's company?
Are you one of them? If you're so good, then why are you hanging around
that kind of crowd? The devil doesn't hang around good people, I can tell
you that.

Are you willing to be with his company? You know, misery likes company.
Are you going to keep misery company?

Let me tell you something, God is not willing that any should perish, but
that all should come to repentance.

The Bible says,

"3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;

4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the
truth.

5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus;

6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." - 1
Timothy 2:3-6

You see, God loves you. He wants you to go to heaven. That's why he sent
Jesus Christ to die on the cross for you. It was so that you could believe
on him and be saved. That's why 1 Timothy chapter 2 says that he gave
himself a ransom for all. A ransom is a payment. He gave himself as a
payment for all, which includes you. The wages of sin is death. The
payment required was death. Jesus payed that debt for you. It was so that
you could live forever.

John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life."

Did you know God's love covered all of your sins? His love covered
everybody's sins.

Let me close with this, if you have walked away from God, let me urge you
to return to him. Rededicate your life to him. He loves you, and this
gospel message is for you.

Abraham's wife, Sarah could not stop her time to die. Her day had come.
But the good thing about Sarah is that she was prepared to die. She knew
the LORD. Let me ask you this; Do you know the Lord? Is Jesus a friend
of yours? He's a friend of mine.

Jesus said, "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I
confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall
deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in
heaven." - Matthew 10:32-33.

Have you ever confessed Jesus? The Bible says, "That if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart
that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation." - Romans 10:9-10

Have you ever believed in your heart the gospel? Have you ever confessed
with your mouth the Lord Jesus? If you haven't, then my friend, do not
wait. Do not put it off. Death is coming, and one day, you will have to
deal with death.